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She Didn’t Know Starlings Ate Port Chops

Today over at Brooklynometry:

I didn’t know Starlings ate pork chops. I did know, from reading A Natural History of New York City by John Kiernan, that they like eating Japanese Beetles and put a big dent in the insect’s populations once they discovered the abundant larvae available at ground level. I remember seeing those metallic beetles when I was a kid. I don’t think I’ve seen one in a long time! For that matter, when was the last time I saw a telephone booth on a corner? Where is Superman supposed to change these days?

Postcard from the Slope

Trader Joe’s To Open in 3 Days: More From Deep Joanna

31_27_traderjoesinside_z_2Our pal, Deep Joanna, wrote with news from the first Trader Joe’s in Brooklyn, which is set to open on Friday September, 26th in the landmark Independence Bank building at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street

Suffice it to say, Deep Joanna is relieved to report that it looks like the elevator should be completed by late Thursday the 25th, just in time for Friday’s opening. It’s been a real nail-biter as to whether it would be finished. This elevator brings products to and from the deep freezer in the basement or lower level of the store.

Our source reports that the brass doors on Atlantic Avenue—not the front doors—are said to have cost more than the elevator This high cost may have something to do with the landmark status of the building, she conjectures.

Because of its size, the Atlantic Avenue store will be the flagship store for the East Coast region. Much of the square footage is outside of the customer’s view: upstairs there are several office spaces and a huge area for crew member tastings.

Says Deep Joanna, the lower level is big enough to hold the Union Square store in, including two large conference rooms for training. There’s also an art department, which DJ says is about the size of a studio or 1BR apt.

According to Deep Joanna there is an old safe that the company still doesn’t know what to do with. She suggests that it be used for an indoor gym.

There will be about 18 registers to ring up orders from customers. Hey, that’s more than the Food Coop.

According to DJ, Union Square was the learning curve for New York City; mistakes were made with the layout and square footage allotted for both crew members and customers

For Friday’s opening, staff from other East Coast Trader Joe’s locations will be on hand to help out with the festivities.

I’m sure the Urban Outfitters just a few doors away is looking forward to the opening of this store which should bring many thousands to that street weekly.

Pix of the store pre-renovation courtesy of the Brooklyn Paper.

Postcard from the Slope

Read This: Experts See Need for Punitive Action in Bailout

Peter Goodman in the Times’ today:

As economists puzzle over the proposed details of what may be the biggest financial bailout in American history, the initial skepticism that greeted its unveiling has only deepened

Some are horrified at the prospect of putting $700 billion in public money on the line. Others are outraged that Wall Street, home of the eight-figure salary, may get rescued from the consequences of its real estate bender, even as working families give up their houses to foreclosure.

Most economists accept that the nation’s financial crisis — the worst since the Great Depression — has reached such perilous proportions that an expensive intervention is required. But considerable disagreement centers on how to go about it. The Treasury’s proposal for a bailout, now being negotiated with Congress, is being challenged as fundamentally deficient.

“At first it was, ‘thank goodness the cavalry is coming,’ but what exactly is the cavalry going to do?” asked Douglas W. Elmendorf, a former Treasury and Federal Reserve Board economist, and now a fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington. “What I worry about is that the Treasury has acted very quickly, without having the time to solicit enough opinions.”

Postcard from the Slope

No Two Buck Chuck at Brooklyn Trader Joe’s

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The new Trader Joe’s coming to the landmark Independence Bank building at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street will have most of the features familiar to Trader Joe’s shoppers.

But one important category will be missing.

According to a company spokesperson, this location won’t be selling alcohol. I’m guessing that has to do with New York State liquor regulations. In California, for instance, all supermarkets sell wine.

I know Trader Joe’s because of all my visits to the relatives in Northern California and we almost always buy wine there. In fact, my mother-in-law is a big fan of Two Buck Chuck, the really cheap wine they sell.

But cheap isn’t necessarily bad. Sometimes Two Buck is a really tasty wine. Sometimes it’s plain awful. Some of the slightly higher priced wines are more dependable.

But sorry folks. You won’t have that experience. Because the Brooklyn store will be sans wine.

Postcard from the Slope

Brooklyn Artist Receives MacArthur “Genuis Award”

Tdcolonyd_2Of the 25 recipients of the $500,000 “genius awards” to be announced on Tuesday by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, there is at least one resident of Brooklyn: Tara Donovan is a sculptor who transforms pencils, paper clips and Scotch tape into sculptures and room sized installations.

She joins a group of lucky artists and scientists, including a Nigerian fiction writer, an urban farmer who delivers healthy food to poor city dwellers; and an astronomer, a rural family physician, a plant geneticist, an infectious disease physician, a jazz musician and others, who will receive this coveted $500,000 that comes without warning and with no strings attached. Here’s a blurb from the MacArthur website:

“They include a neurobiologist, a saxophonist, a critical care physician, an urban farmer, an optical physicist, a sculptor, a geriatrician, a historian of medicine, and an inventor of musical instruments. All were selected for their creativity, originality, and potential to make important contributions in the future. Each received a phone call from the MacArthur Foundation with news of $500,000 in no-strings-attached support over the next five years.

“The MacArthur Fellows Program celebrates extraordinarily creative individuals who inspire new heights in human achievement,” said MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton. “With their boldness, courage, and uncommon energy, this new group of Fellows, men and women of all ages in diverse fields, exemplifies the boundless nature of the human mind and spirit.””

Postcard from the Slope

Photo Stolen From Bar Sepia

The owner of Bar Sepia (234 Underwood Avenue) in Prospect Heights sent this note about a stolen photo. She’d like her cherished photo returned — no questions asked.

I am the owner of Bar Sepia, a small bar in Prospect Heights, and I’m reaching out for your help. For those of you who have enjoyed and shared our space , you can most likely recall the lovely black and white and color photos hanging the brick wall. Donated to us by the generous and talented photographer Danny Clinch, the amazing photographs of Bob Dylan, Beasty Boys, and Ben Harper, to name a few, have adorned our walls since we opened our doors in 2004.

Unfortunately, someone felt the need to steal the beloved black and white photo of the late John Lee Hooker and Beck. As the owner of Bar Sepia I have always welcomed all to enjoy our space. It is outrageous that someone felt the need and right to walk in and help themselves to such a precious gift to our establishment.

We have only had one photo stolen in the nearly 5 years of doing business and, fortunately, with the help of our community it was returned. Again, I ask for your help. Whoever has the photo, just return it, no charges will be pressed, and no questions will be asked.

Postcard from the Slope

She Made Him Step in Ketchup

Brookynometry is one cool mom. Look what she did last Friday night. Go to the blog to see the pictures.

…This is part of my kitchen
occupational therapy series. All other weeknights have been for
homework lately, but Friday I reserve for flooding the senses.

He
never would have done this footwork had his little sister not happily
led the way. Once his feet were in the condiment booties, he got very
quiet. The reason for the fun here. But does fun really need a reason?

Civics and Urban Life

September 27: An All-Nighter At Bam

From 9pm until 4am, party like it’s 1999 at BAM. All night. It’s the second annual Takeover.

$20 in advance, $25 (cash only) at the door

TAKEOVER
returns this fall for a second sleepless night. Four bands, selected by
Sufjan Stevens, keep the Opera House full, while four movie marathons
screen in the cinemas. DJs spin all night long, setting the beat for a
nonstop dance party in BAMcafé, while video art, cheap beer, and
endless diversions take you from dusk ’til dawn.

Bands
Brooklyn Youth Chorus featuring Nico Muhly
St. Vincent
Naomi Shelton & The Gospel Queens
The Budos Band

DJs
King Britt
Vikter Duplaix

Films
Bring Back the Draught!
Featuring Beerfest, Strange Brew, The Saddest Music in the World, and The Fatal Glass of Beer

Up All Night in 1985
Featuring The Last Dragon, Perfect, Fright Night, and more

The Reel World: Brooklyn
Featuring Saturday Night Fever, She’s Gotta Have It, and The Warriors

Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom: Part I

Rec Room & More
Wii
Guitar Hero
Ping-pong
Lounge
Voter registration

Video Art
Deborah Johnson, CandyStations

            

Civics and Urban Life

Reinventing Grand Army Plaza Thank Goodness

Wondering what all that red signage is in the middle of Grand Army Plaza—where the fountain is??? Why, it’s an exhibit presented by the Design Trust for Public Space and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition, which will be there through October 13th. Check it out.

Grand Army Plaza should be one of the world’s great urban spaces. Designed in 1867 by Olmsted and Vaux, this magnificent 11-acre plaza is home to the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial Arch, the elegant Bailey Fountain, the Greenmarket, and the entrance to Prospect Park. Despite its identity as the historic, cultural and geographic heart of Brooklyn, hazardous conditions for pedestrians and cyclists today impede access to neighborhoods, cultural institutions, and prevent use of the Plaza itself.

To catalyze Grand Army Plaza’s rebirth, the Design Trust for Public Space and the Grand Army Plaza Coalition, held an open, international ideas competition in spring 2008 to attract visionary designs for transforming the Plaza. Entrants were encouraged to create bold visions that express the spirit of Brooklyn right now, and did not have to be realistic.

The Reinventing Grand Army Plaza ideas competition resulted in over 200 proposals – from the feasible to the fantastic – submitted from around the world. A distinguished independent jury judged the submissions through an anonymous review, and selected the top 30 proposals to be included in the public exhibit, along with the 4 prizewinning designs.         

From September 13 to October 13, 2008, these visionary plans for a new and improved Grand Army Plaza will be on view in a free, outdoor, public exhibition in the center of the Plaza. Designed by the world-renowned firm Pentagram, this unprecedented exhibit allows the public to imagine the new plans while on site. Visitors to the exhibit will also have the opportunity to vote for their favorite ideas via text message in our People’s Choice Award; the results will be announced on October 8th.

.

Postcard from the Slope

Tonight at BAM: Season Opener of Metropolitan Opera

 Tonight, September 22 at 6 p.m., opening night at the Metropolitan Opera will be on a screen at the BAM Rose Cinema.

Renée
Fleming stars in three of her most acclaimed roles for the Opening
Night Gala performance. Music Director James Levine and Marco Armiliato
conduct fully staged performances of the second act of Verdi’s La Traviata, the third act of Massenet’s Manon, and the final scene from Richard Strauss’ Capriccio. Tenor Ramón Vargas and baritones Thomas Hampson and Dwayne Croft join the soprano for this season-opener.

Civics and Urban Life

Kids Rx Should Be Opening Soon

I peeked through a rip in the plain brown paper on the windows of the space at 189 Seventh Avenue (at 2nd Street) that used to be Second Street Cafe and saw that the newcomers, Kids Rx are nearly finished with their transformation of that space from a restaurant into a drug store.

It’s beginning to look like a drug store albeit an unusual drugstore that specializes in traditional and natural healthcare for kids. Here’s their blurb from their website which is now touting their new Park Slope store:

KidsRx is a real community pharmacy that places special emphasis on the healthcare needs of children.

What makes us different from an ordinary "drugstore"?

KidsRx makes a shift from a product-based service to an information-base service.

KidsRx creates a fun and welcoming atmosphere for child and parent alike. Kids are welcome to play in our waiting area with Thomas The Tank & Friends or sit and watch our overhead train go!

KidsRx specializes in pediatric compounding which allows us to customize a formulation to best suit a patient’s needs. Flavoring, lollipops, transdermal gels (to treat nasuea/vomiting or fever), make hard to find items, custom doses, and create discontinued products.

KidsRx offers comprehensive counseling and follow-up with child and caregiver, always keeping in mind that medicines used improperly can cause a lifetime of consequences in a child.

Civics and Urban Life

Greater Oversight of Bailout Urged

As reported by Reuters, New York Senator and Park Sloper Charles Schumer says that tougher oversight over $700 billion bailout to taxpayers’
interest must come first.

"We understand the need to act and to act quickly. But we feel …
taxpayers have to come first," Schumer told reporters. "They have to
come ahead of the bondholders, the shareholders, and the executives."
   

"And finally oversight," he added. "You can’t give all this power to
any one person, particularly a non-elected person … without making
sure conflicts of interest are dealt with, that people are treated
fairly."

Civics and Urban Life

Are You Registered to Vote?

I got this email from the Obama campaign:

Think of all the people you know — your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors. What if every one of them voted on Election Day?

That’s a lot of votes.

But odds are, many of them aren’t registered — or aren’t sure if they are.

Now there’s an easy way to learn your status and get registered. Our new one-stop voter registration site, VoteForChange.com, lets you do it all: check your registration status, register to vote, request an absentee ballot, and find your early voting site or polling location.

Take a minute today to check out VoteForChange.com, and encourage your friends and family to do the same:

http://my.barackobama.com/vfc

In just the past few weeks, 200,000 people have used VoteForChange.com to register to vote. That’s a remarkable accomplishment, and we’re well on our way to our goal — 1,000,000 people using VoteForChange.com to register to vote before the election.

We’re counting on all of our supporters to help reach this goal by forwarding this email to friends and family.

This election is going to be incredibly close, and we need every single vote we can get to win. But almost everywhere in the country, there are only a couple of weeks left before your registration deadline.

VoteForChange.com makes it easier than ever to confirm your registration. Instead of tracking down the right forms, all you need to do is answer a few basic questions and you’ll be ready to vote.

If you’re not sure if you’re registered or if you have any questions, take a minute to visit the site and make your voice heard on Election Day:

http://my.barackobama.com/vfc

Together, we can turn the tide of the past eight years and bring about the real change this country needs.

But we all need to vote — and first, we all need to be registered.

Postcard from the Slope

Introducing: Art Obama, A Benefit for Change

Zen_logo
Park Slope is mobilizing for Obama, whom we need NOW more than ever. Art Obama is the brainchild of
a committee of smart, creative Park Slopers, who are mad as hell and
can’t take what’s happening to this country anymore. So they got
organized out of frustration and passion and put together this
home-grown effort to raise money. Lucky thing they know a lot artists, who were willing to get on board.

The website has examples of nearly all the artists involved and I urge you to take a
look at some of the art and decide which pieces you want bid on. Every
penny goes to the campaign of the man who MUST be president.

On October 3, there will be a silent auction of over 100 small works
by American artists to support the election of Barack Obama and
down-ticket Democrats. 

Proceeds benefit the Obama Victory Fund.  Donations also accepted
for ActBlue , a clearinghouse supporting progressive House and Senate
candidates nationwide. Space is limited, and pre-registration for this
event is strongly recommended. 

Friday, October 3, 2008
Silent Auction 7 to 10 pm (bidding 7-9). $25 at the door
62 Eighteenth Street, Brooklyn NY, 5th Floor

Civics and Urban Life

Announcing Art Obama: A Silent Auction and Event

Zen_logo
Art Obama’s website is still a work in progress but it is up and running and you can take a look at some of the art and decide, which pieces you want bid on. Every penny goes to the campaign of the man who MUST be president.

Art Obama is the brainchild of a committee of smart, creative Park Slopers, who are mad as hell and can’t take what’s happening to this country anymore. So they got organized out of frustration and passion and put together this home-grown effort to raise money. Lucky thing they know a lot of New York artists, who were willing to get on board.

On October 3, there will be a silent auction of over 100 small works by American artists to support the election of Barack Obama and down-ticket Democrats. 

Proceeds benefit the Obama Victory Fund.  Donations also accepted for ActBlue , a clearinghouse supporting progressive House and Senate candidates nationwide. Space is limited, and pre-registration for this event is strongly recommended. 

Friday, October 3, 2008
Silent Auction 7 to 10 pm (bidding 7-9). $25 at the door
62 Eighteenth Street, Brooklyn NY, 5th Floor

Civics and Urban Life

The Wall Street Bailout Plan Explained, Sort Of

Take a look at the Q&A by David Stout in the  New York Times meant to explain the Wall Street Bailout plan. Here’s an excerpt.

Q. So is it fair to say that Americans who
are neither rich nor reckless are being asked to rescue people who are?
What is in this package for responsible homeowners of modest means who
might be forced out of their homes, perhaps for reasons beyond their
control?

A. Yes, you could argue that
people who cannot tell soybean futures from puts, calls and options are
being asked to clean up the costly mess left by Wall Street. To make
the bailout palatable to the public, it is being described as far
better than inaction, which administration officials and members of
Congress say could imperil the retirement savings and other investments
of Americans who are anything but rich.

Q. How is it that the administration and
Congress, which have not tried to find huge amounts of money to, say,
improve the nation’s health insurance system or repair bridges and
tunnels, can now be ready to come up with $700 billion to rescue the
financial system? And is it realistic to think that the parties can
reach agreement and get legislation passed in a hurry?

A.
The first question will surely come up again, involving as it does not
just issues of spending policy but also more profound questions about
national aspirations. As for rescuing the financial system, elected
officials in both parties became convinced that, while a couple of
venerable investment banks could fade into oblivion or be absorbed by
mergers, the entire financial system could not be allowed to collapse.

Civics and Urban Life

Whoa: $700 Billion Bailout for Wall Street

Read all about it in today’s newspapers…

NY Times Headline: $700 Bailout Is Sought for Wall Street in Vast Bailout
Daily News: Headline: Biggest Bailout Since the 1930’s.

This from the Times:

The Bush administration on Saturday formally proposed a vast bailout
of financial institutions in the United States, requesting unfettered
authority for the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in
distressed mortgage-related assets from the private firms.

The proposal, not quite three
pages long, was stunning for its stark simplicity. It would raise the
national debt ceiling to $11.3 trillion. And it would place no
restrictions on the administration other than requiring semiannual
reports to Congress, granting the Treasury secretary unprecedented
power to buy and resell mortgage debt.

“This is a big package,
because it was a big problem,” President Bush said Saturday at a White
House news conference, after meeting with President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. “I will tell our citizens and continue to remind them that
the risk of doing nothing far outweighs the risk of the package, and
that, over time, we’re going to get a lot of the money back.”

Postcard from the Slope

New Zealand Man Seeks Info About Police Officer Killed in 1930

3 Comments

I just noticed this in my email. It’s a note from someone in New Zealand looking for information about Walter O. DiCastillia, a police officer who was killed in 1930. Does anyone know anything?

Greetings from New Zealand.

I’m trying to track down information on the killing of this police
officer on March 15 1930. He was stationed at the 84 Precinct in Polar Street in Brooklyn Heights.

He apparently interrupted a payroll robbery. Three men were subsequently
arrested but released.

I’ve tried every on line source I can think of. The NY Times does not
seem to have anything on it. Even the NYPD Roll of Honour only lists his name and date of death.

Any suggestions? Obviously if I lived over there I could go hunting in
libraries etc.

Hope you can steer me somewhere!

Thanks in advance,

Civics and Urban Life

Today: Brooklyn Blogade on Social Networking

TODAY: Learn about social media, personal branding and audience building at this month’s Brooklyn Blogade, a monthly meeting of Brooklyn
bloggers. These monthly gatherings, which meet all over Brooklyn, are
open to bloggers, blog readers, those interested in blogging, and those
thinking about blogging. Here are the ‘tails about today’s Blogade.

This month’s blogade takes place TODAY Sunday September 21 at 1 p.m. in Williamsburg at Juliette – just
off the L at Bedford (great large roofdeck perfect for margaritas)
http://nymag.com/listings/restaurant/juliette/

The group will be gathering on the rooftop (weather permitting) at 1PM and
talking about how to build your personal brand (your blog’s identity)
and how to use social media (like Twitter and Facebook fan pages) to
grow your brand and expand your audience.

Please RSVP: email directly: christine.brodi…@gmail.com. She had this to say:

In the meantime, I’d like to invite you to get started setting up a

few social assets, please open the following accounts and friend/

follow me:

www.facebook.com (start your account and search for Chrissie Brodigan

and send me a friend request – and, if possible set up a Facebook Fan

page for your blog)

www.twitter.com (start your account and give me a follow at chrissieb

– and I will follow you back!)

Postcard from the Slope

BAG To Artists: Show Us Your Brooklyn

1 Comment

Homestudio
I got this email from Catherine Weaver over at the Brooklyn Artists Gym:

I’m co-curating an exhibit/fundraiser at the Brooklyn Artist’s Gym and I"m
wondering if you could do a little post about it? It would help me and the
BAG Fund out eNORmously!

Produced by the BAG Fund, the show will be called BKLYN 111 and will speak
to Brooklyn’s one hundred eleventh year of colorful history. It will run
from October 17th to the 25, culminating in a party/fundraiser wherein all
works will be sold for the benefit of the BAG Fund which works to support
struggling artists with mentorship, studio space, and legal advice on
estates.

We are asking artists to show us THEIR Brooklyn in any medium, any style.

The deadline for submissions is Sept 26th. They can apply on the Brooklyn
Artists Gym site at: http://www.brooklynartistsgym.com/showbrooklyn111.html

Civics and Urban Life

Park Slope’s Charles M. Blow: Op-Ed Columist in the Times’

Blow190v_2
Park Slope resident Charles M. Blow is now an Op-Ed columnist in the NY Times. Here’s the announcement from April 2008 by Andrew Rosenthal.   

When last seen around these here parts, or at least
the parts on 43rd Street, Charles was in the newsroom, helping to guide
the paper’s design as deputy design director for news, a position that
he created.
 
 

Before that, of course, he was our pioneering
Graphics Editor, introducing Times readers to the kind of ambitious,
authoritative and beautiful charts, maps and other kinds of graphics
that are now an ingrained part of our journalism. Charles left The
Times for a new challenge, at National Geographic Magazine, where he
was Art Director, rebuilding the art department and attracting
world-renowned visual journalists. In addition to producing scientific
illustrations, maps and graphics, his staff developed and pitched
stories.

He is returning to us as a columnist, but an
entirely new kind of columnist a visual columnist, if you will. Charles
will do his own Op-Charts, lending his formidable skills and distinct
style to that form of opinion journalism. And, equally exciting, he
will create a new kind of journalistic space on our website. I’d call
it a blog if I were given to using that word. Charles envisions a
gathering place for visual journalists, especially those who use
numbers and images and charts to express opinion. It will be just the
kind of “you won’t find it anywhere else” feature that ought to be on
nytimes.com.
 
 

Charles will be working from the columnist
zone on the 13th floor. I was devastated when he left The Times,
because he was a great colleague, a great mind and a great leader. I
couldn’t be happier to welcome him back. – Andrew Rosenthal

Charles has a piece in today’s Times’ called Lipstick Bungle.

 
 

Serving Park Slope and Beyond